Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Marcus O'Sullivan en route to his 100th sub-4:00 mile at the 1998 Millrose Games

Marcus O’Sullivan is one of only 3 athletes to run 100 or more sub-4:00 miles. He joined American Steve Scott (136 sub-4:00 miles) and New Zealander John Walker (124 sub-4:00 miles) on that list on February 13th, 1998, when he ran 3:58.10 at the Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games. His final sub-4:00 mile -- his 101st -- took place 12 days later in Melbourne, Australia. In that final sub-4 performance, O'Sullivan came third behind Kenyans Daniel Komen (3:53.63) and Noah Ngeny (3:56.06). He also ran the metric equivalent of the sub-4:00 mile (i.e., sub 3:42.2 over 1500 meters) an additional 83 times in his career to produce a staggering level of consistency.

Here is O'Sullivan's complete list of sub-4:00 miles in chronological order. Note the gap of 15 years and 1 month between his initial and his final sub-4 efforts.

Monday, February 25, 2013

On the heels of his dominating victory at last week's Millrose Games High School Mile, Villanova's 2013 signee Ben Malone tonight won the prestigious Eastern States championship over two miles. The race was a relatively slow affair -- Malone's 2-mile PR (9:12.02) is a full 9 seconds faster than his winning time tonight (9:21.17) -- but Malone's superior speed allowed him to run away from the other two competitors in the lead trio, and he won by almost two full seconds.

Up against Malone tonight were seniors Jimmy Daniels, who will run next year at St. Joseph's (PA), and Shawn Wilson (one of Marc Pelerin's charges at Cherokee High School in Marlton, NJ), who has signed on with Syracuse University. Second-place finisher Josiah Hanko -- still a junior -- finished 2nd at the New Jersey state meet over 1600 meters on Saturday. So, overall, a solid victory over a talented field of competitors.

TAMPA --Sunday's Publix Super Markets Gasparilla Distance Classic 8k race was a walk in the park for Bobby Curtis, who just happens to be one of the fastest distance runners in the world.

No wonder Curtis' relative stroll led to a course record of 23 minutes, 30 seconds (4:43 a mile pace).

Several bystanders, however, wondered why Curtis was barreling down Bayshore Boulevard on a balmy Sunday without any serious competition.

"I needed a race tuneup," said Curtis, a 28-year-old sponsored by the Hansons-Brooks Original Distance Project, the names of which were stretched across his chest. "Coming up I have the 15k U.S. Nationals [March 9th in Jacksonville] and the (10k World Championships in Moscow this summer)."

Curtis went 23:30 CR at Gasparilla 8K

Sunday's appearance made more sense because Curtis was training this week in Orlando, where during the winter months he alternates weeks of workouts between Orlando and Michigan, home of the Hansons-Brooks organization.

"My coach told me to come over and run this race," said a smiling Curtis, who has run America's seventh-fastest 10,000 meters in 27:24. "It turned out to be a great decision because this is a very well-run race at a great venue."

Curtis handily beat Hansons-Brooks teammate Dustin Emerick, who cruised in as the runner-up in 24:28. The next closest finisher was Tampa's Jon Noland, 38, who followed in 26:37.

"I've never been to Tampa before but I think I'd like to come back," said Emerick, 23. "This (tuneup race) worked out really great. It's a beautiful city."

Curtis' time shattered the previous 8k record of 26.42 set last year by Oscar Orozco.

The only criticism from the leading visitors was that it was a bit hot, a sentiment echoed by the women's 8k champion, Gainesville's Stephanie McGrail, who finished in 32:07.

"I felt great starting out, but then the last few miles it started getting a little warm," said McGrail, 26. "At that point, though, I was just giving it everything I had."

McGrail admitted that she didn't expect to win Sunday's race because she hasn't been training extra hard and she came down to Tampa merely as part of a visit to her aunt, MaryAnn Gilbert, who lives on Davis Islands.

"At the starting line I was thinking a top-five finish might be nice," McGrail said. "It was a lot of fun to get out to the lead and then win. It turned out to be a great day

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Bobby Curtis made his Hansons-Brooks debut this morning in Tampa and won the Gasaprilla 8K in 23:30 (4:42 per), a new course record by more than 3 minutes. His Hansons-Brooks teammate Dustin Emerick, who owns a 28:41.62 PR over 10,000 meters, was second, 58 seconds back. Here are the top results:

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Villanova Running tracked down Villanova's latest import from Australia, Patrick Tiernan for a short Q&A about his transition to school in the States. Tiernan is matriculating at Villanova this semester and will debut for the Cats this fall during Cross Country season. In 2012, Tiernan was a triple Australian U-20 champion (as a 17-year old): 1500 meters, 5000 meters, and cross country. For the story of those victories, click HERE.

Here's this weekend's Q&A with Patrick Tiernan:

VR: Describe the process by which you were recruited by Villanova -- how/when you were contacted, what considerations you had to deal with, what concerns your parents had, etc.; Were you friends with any of the other guys from Australia (Jordy Williamsz, Matt Gibney, or Sam McEntee) before Villanova came onto your recruiting radar, and did you talk with them a lot before deciding to accept Villanova's offer?

PT: I think it was around January/February in 2012 when I was first contacted by Adrian [Blincoe] to discuss a possibly future at Villanova. I'd just come off a successful cross country season and was in reasonable shape heading into the upcoming outdoor track season back in Australia. I wasn't officially offered a contract here until late July/early August. I hadn't really given the whole idea much thought, as it had all seemed a bit surreal to me, but there were definitely some considerations I had to take in. I had just started a Bachelor of Exercise Science at university in Australia, and wasn't enjoying it as much as I thought I would, so I was going to start a new degree regardless of where I went, so that wasn't a major issue. I had developed quite a strong friend base over the 12-18 months before coming over though, and that was definitely tough for me to leave. The biggest thing for me however was leaving my family to go halfway around the world to complete a university degree. It's been tough, but we've been in contact fairly regularly since my arrival over here. As far as the transfer over here, I was glad that I'd met Jordan Williamsz, another Australian on the team, before coming over, so that thought of having a familiar face waiting for me to arrive was very comforting. I'd briefly talked to both Sam McEntee and Matt Gibney before coming over, but I'd never met either of them.

VR: What were your biggest concerns in coming to the States to compete in the US collegiate system? Positives & Negatives? How important was it that Villanova has had a strong (and successful) Aussie/Kiwi contingent over the past 12 years?

PT: I didn't really have any concerns with the collegiate athletic system before coming over; it's a fantastic set up over here compared to the Australian college system, so for me it was all about the positive aspects! The three different seasons: cross country, indoor, and outdoor. The regular racing that is made available by the system. The range in competition is remarkable; there's always going to be a race that will consist of runners around your personal ability. Just in general, it's something that I've been very excited about over the last six months, and to finally be here is fantastic. I cannot wait to put on that Villanova singlet in August to take part in it!

It was quite important that I'd seen the likes of Gibney and Sam have such great success over here at Villanova both athletically and academically. It definitely helps knowing that someone in the same situation as you're in has been able to have such great success, so that was a major influence on my decision to make the switch from Australia to Villanova.

VR: What have been the 3-4 biggest surprises you've encountered about life in the USA -- oddities and unexpected things?

Tiernan won the 2012 Gold Coast 10K

PT: Well for one, the weather was a major shock to my system! I'd been experiencing fantastic weather back home just before I came over. It was the middle of summer, hitting around 90-100 degrees F on a regular basis; shirts and shorts weather. When I got off the plane in Philadelphia, the low 30's and high 20's were definitely a big shock to me! I've been able to adjust pretty well though, although I won't deny the fact that summer couldn't come soon enough! Secondly, the whole driving on the right hand side of the road aspect still gets me. That one will probably take a little longer to adjust to. Lastly, I bought a pair of jeans for $30 the other day. . . I'd never dream of getting a good pair for less than $80 back home. Everything is so much cheaper!!

VR: How is your training progressing? What at this point in your career do you see as your optimal distance? -- is it 1500 or 5000, or both? Or do you see your strengths pointing most to XC?

PT: Training's been going really well at the moment. It's very different to what I was doing back home, as a lot of this work is based on heart rates and what not, but I think Marcus is doing a fantastic job with it all. I've managed to get into some reasonable shape, but for me the focus is just keeping fit so I can come out firing in the cross country season in the fall. Cross country was probably my biggest strength back home for the duration that I was there, but I've managed to pick up a little bit of speed in the last 18 months. So I'd like to try and do the 1500/5km double, but realistically I think the 5km is my optimal event, aside from cross country that is.

VR: Overall, how's school going at Villanova -- classes going well, etc? Are you acclimating to student life OK?

PT: I love the university system over here in the sense that classes are much like high school back home, only in the set-up though, the work is definitely at a university standard. Not one of my classes consists of more than 25 people, and they're very much discussion-based as well, where as in Australia the whole lecture/tutorial routine just didn't suit me very well, so that's another positive note on moving here. I've managed to meet a fair few people in my classes and in my dorm, so the transfer over has been a pretty smooth one on most levels.

VR: Finally, which Australian food/beverages do you miss the most? What American foods are most over-rated?

PT: I've been craving a meat pie and some pavlova since I got here. When I head back, I can guarantee you they will be my first choices of food upon arrival! Oh, and I miss the bread from Australia as well, I find it's all very sweet over here and doesn't quite have that same freshness. I'm not a massive fan of the famous fried onions either, maybe it's just my taste-buds, but the combination just doesn't work for me.

Friday, February 22, 2013

As a dentist by profession, Robert "Doc" Raemore had no choice but to get in people's faces.

But during his longtime coaching career at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, he preferred to stay behind the scenes and let his athletes shine in the spotlight.

Raemore, 71, an Indiana dentist who also coached the sprinters and hurdlers on the IUP track and field teams for 34 years, died early Saturday [February 9th] after a brief and sudden illness.

"It's hard to get through this," said former IUP track and field and cross country coach Ed Fry, who coached alongside Raemore for 34 seasons. "This was pretty sudden for everybody because he thought he just had the flu on Tuesday. He went (to work) the next day for a little bit, and he wasn't feeling great so he went home. But he didn't go to the hospital until Friday, and they took him right away to (UPMC). … By Friday night he was in pretty bad shape, and he died at 12:01 Saturday morning.

"I can't tell you how many calls I've received already. And these are people from faraway places. He will be missed by the entire IUP track family."

Raemore, much like Fry, is a legendary figure in IUP track and field annals, and he was respected by former athletes far and wide.

In May 2008, after Sean Strauman won the NCAA Division II national title in the 800-meter run, he dedicated the championship to Raemore and Fry.

"The one thing I said to Coach Fry after I finished the race and he was handing me the trophy was, 'This one is for you and Doc,'" Strauman said at the time. "It's really good for me to end my season like that, but it meant more to finish like that for those two guys."

On Saturday, Strauman wrote on his Facebook page: "You were such an incredible coach, mentor and friend. Thank you for pushing me to be the best person I could be. I truly hope every time I stepped out on the track to run, I made you proud. You will be missed forever."

Brian Spickler, IUP's head track and field coach from 2002 to 2008, blossomed under Raemore as an athlete in the late-1990s after arriving at IUP with the billing of being a marginal athlete at best. By his senior year in 1998, Spickler had blossomed into a contender for the national title in the decathlon. Spickler was a two-time All-America selection in 1997 and '98 and earned the PSAC Athlete of the Year award in 1997.

Raemore, Manion, Drayton, Budd

"(Raemore) was one of the integral reasons why I had the success I had," Spickler said this morning from his home in Denver, Colo. "He not only helped me become the best athlete I could be, but be the best person I could be -- and a lot of other athletes. ... If he wasn't my coach, I would never have had the success I did."

A standout track athlete in his own right at Williamsport High School in the 1950s and Villanova University in the 1960s, Raemore began his coaching career at IUP in 1973, serving as an assistant to Fry until 1980.

Then, he served as the head coach of the IUP men's track team for five seasons before returning to his role as an assistant from 1985 until his retirement in 2007. Being a little-known assistant behind the scenes was just fine with Raemore.

"He was just happy coaching the sprinters and the hurdlers, and he loved doing it," Fry said.

"And of course, he had great success with it. He really enjoyed it. He had a great sense of humor and employed that in all his work. He just loved to see the kids succeed, and they responded to his coaching style."

"Just seeing the outpouring of support from all the athletes he touched, it spans across generations," Spickler said. "Even guys I ran with, their parents ran for Coach Raemore. It shows the effect he had, not only as a coach, but a mentor and someone they could look up to. It's neat to see the responses online and how much people truly did care for the guy, myself included."

In 2007, Raemore was named the NCAA Division II Women's Assistant Track Coach of the Year and the East Region Assistant Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track and Field Coaches Association.

During his coaching tenure, Raemore coached three national-champion sprinters -- Amber Plowden in the 100-meter dash and Derek Brinkley in the 400 hurdles, both in 2001, and Bob Babiak in the decathlon in 1990 -- several All-America selections, numerous Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champions and even one future Olympian.

Jim Wooding, a two time All-America selection in the decathlon under Raemore, was a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic team. He finished seventh.

Raemore is a member of the Pennsylvania Track and Field Hall of Fame as well the West Branch Valley Hall of Fame.

Legendary Villanova Olympian Cummin Clancy has died at the age of 90. Clancy represented his native Ireland at the 1948 London Games, where he met Jumbo Elliott and Browning Ross and was recruited to attend Villanova University, from which he graduated in 1953. He was among the first trio of Irishman (with Jimmy Reardon and John Joe Barry) who would start the so-called "Irish Pipeline" to Villanova.

While at Villanova, Clancy won the 1951 IC4A discus champion with a throw of 158' 3/8". By the time he graduated, Clancy has established himself as the school record holder in the discus, and his school record of 161' 11" stood from April 1951 until April of 1973. His toss still stands as the 5th best in school history, 62 years after the fact.

Below is a story about Cummin written just prior to the 2012 London Games, held 64 years after his own participation in a London Olympiad.

Oughterard's Olympian

By Mary Kyne

As London prepares to host the Olympic Games for the first time since 1948 the people of Oughterard and Glann would like to pay tribute to their Olympian hero, Cummin Clancy who participated in the 1948 Olympics. Cummin is the youngest child of the late Matt and Annie Sullivan Farravaun. He was born on the 9th November 1922, educated at Glann National School and then trained as a Garda.

Garda Ned Tobin, based in Galway noticed Cummin’s ability as an athlete when he competed at Ross, Cornamona and Seaneaglish sports to name a few in the forties. Ned was impressed at his sheer strength, skill and natural ability as a discus thrower.

Cummin stationed in Dublin, joined Donore Harriers Athletic Club. He broke the Irish record for discus throwing. In 1948 just a fortnight before the Olympic Games he won the British A.A.A. Championship. He was 26 years of age when he was chosen one of 73 Olympians (68 men and 5 women) to represent Ireland in London.

He said in an interview with Malachy Clerkin of the Irish Times Magazine, “I would have been the best in the British Isles. I would have been around fourth or fifth in the world in the discus at one point but I didn’t really come close to a medal in London.”

Wembley Stadium

In Wembley Stadium with 85,000 in the stands he walked out and took his place as the first person from County Galway to represent Ireland at the Olympics. And then it all went wrong, Cummin’s best throw came to 40.73 metres almost a full 4metres short of the distance needed to make it to the final. His one shot at the Olympics fizzled out as soon as it had begun.

Cummin’s Life Changed Forever

Even though he suffered disappointment his life changed forever on that trip to London. More than that, Irish athletics changed forever. While there Cummin and 400 metre runner Jimmy Reardon were approached by an American coach who asked if they would like to come and compete for his University on an athletics scholarship. The coach was Jumbo Elliott, the university was Villanova. Cummin and Reardon became the first Irish athletes to join up, beating a path that was followed down the decades by waves of recruits from Ronnie Delaney to Eamon Coughlan to Sonia O'Sullivan.

Success at Villanova

While there he represented his university with distinction. He graduated as a Bachelor of Science and Economics and went on to establish the brokerage firm of Clancy & Clancy in Garden City, New York.

Villanova was located right next door to Rosemont College, then a women-only university, where young Maureen O'Grady, the daughter of Irish immigrants was studying. This summer they will be married 58 years. Maureen said in an interview with Malachy Clerkin, “He told me that he was going back to Ireland but as time went on things changed. He got a good job with GM. We came up to New York and Cummin set up his own insurance agency, which was very successful. We were married eight years and had five children before my first visit to Ireland. We took the three older children, who were six, five and three at the time. We didn’t go the next year, but we have been back every year since, until this past year when it was a bit too much for Cummin.” Cummin never forgot his roots.

Life in New York

The Clancy’s live in New York but they built a house in Glann in 1967. Although Cummin, who will turn 90 in November, never went to another Olympics, the sporting gene was passed along. His eldest son Seán, played a couple of seasons in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins and his nephew Kevin, son of Paddy and Mary played minor and senior football for Galway and Matthew, son of Kevin and Betty, won All Ireland football titles in U21 and Senior with Galway in 2001.

Miles milestone unmarked
A column by Len JohnsonRunner's Tribe, February 15, 2013, 3:01pm

As the USA approaches one four-minute milestone, it appears we here in Australia might have been asleep at the wheel as we passed another.

As of last weekend, 393 Americans had broken four minutes for the mile. Speculation is mounting as to who will be the 400th and when – other than soon – it will happen.

One of the reasons the four-minute mile retains such fascination almost 60 years after it was achieved is that it still accords with that urge for mathematical simplicity – four laps, one minute per lap, four minutes.

Four hundred resonates right in tune with those other fours.

The impending US 400 prompted a few of us to wonder how many Australians had run under four minutes since John Landy became the first to do so in Turku, Finland on 21 June, 1954.

It appears we have missed a significant milestone in our own mile history.

Sometime in the past couple of years, someone became our 50th sub-4 minute miler. Unless I missed it, he did so without fanfare or comment.

We now have 51, by my reckoning. This puts us far ahead of the US, on a per capita basis. The Americans have about eight times as many sub-4 minute milers as we have, but almost 14 times the population (314 million versus 23). So, we’re doing about twice as well against the USA as we should.

Our 51 sub-four minute milers includes three who - thus far - have only done it indoors. This is in line with the US list and a comprehensive world register maintained by the British NUTS (that’s National Union of Track Statisticians).

There is an argument that only outdoor performances should be considered, as some runners are advantaged by the banked bends of indoor tracks. That’s true, but just as many are disadvantaged, while probably as many more don’t even get to run indoors at all.

Matt Gibney

In any case, three of the four most recent additions to our sub-4 list – Sam McEntee, Matt Gibney and Ryan Foster, did so in indoor collegiate races in the US. And with opportunities to race over the mile drying up, you’ve got to count every race over the distance that you can.

So, who is number 50? According to the Australian all-time list on the Athletics Australia website, 48 Australians have broken four minutes outdoors (some of the 48 have done it indoors as well) while the above three have done so indoor.

In another statistical oddity, Matt Gibney’s 3:58.12 was run on an oversize track in Seattle. For record purposes, the maximum indoor track is 200 metres. It’s still a smaller track than the standard outdoor 400-metre oval, however, and all the sub-4 lists carry the performance.

Finally, I think (there’s always another ‘stats quirk’ you haven’t thought of), Brenton Rowe and Peter O’Donoghue are both included on the Australian all-time list, despite representing other nations at different stages of their careers.

Rowe’s 3:58.06 last year is listed, even though he now represents Austria internationally. Brenton first broke four minutes in 2009. He said in his Runners Tribe blog (http://www.runnerstribe.com/article/8797-RT-Journals-Brenton-Rowe-World-University-Games) that he made the decision to opt for Austria only in 2011, so his 2009 run is definitely a ridgy-didge Aussie sub-4.

Sam McEntee

O’Donoghue ran a sub-4 early in 1993. He also broke four minutes in both 1982 and 1984 and won a Commonwealth 1500 bronze for New Zealand in 1990. His 1993 sub-4 was in January and he ran for Australia all that year – world indoors, world cross-country and world championships). Definitely an Aussie that year, I would think.

Assuming both Rowe and O’Donoghue count, then our 50th sub-four minute miler was – James Kaan, who ran 3:58.19 in Dublin on 8 July, 2011.

If either Rowe or O’Donoghue doesn’t count, the honour would go to Sam McEntee with his 3:57.86 on the Pennsylvania State University indoor track on 28 January last year.

I like those two scenarios as, either way, the accolade goes to one of our up-and-coming middle-distance runners.

Actually, there is a nice symmetry with James Kaan, as his run was in the same Santry Stadium in which Herb Elliott set a world record of 3:54.5 back in 1958.

Elliott’s is one of two world record performances on the Australian all-time list. The other is John Landy’s 3:57.9 in 1954, the second sub-four minute mile ever run. Landy also broke the 1500 metres world record en route.

Jordy Williamsz is next?

In the unlikely scenario of neither Rowe nor O’Donoghue counting, our next sub-4 miler will be the 50th.

Of course, it’s no fun driving down memory lane unless you take a few detours, so let’s acknowledge a few more statistical oddities along the way:

-the current Australian record is held by Craig Mottram at 3:48.98.

-the first Australian under 3:50 was the previous holder of the record, Simon Doyle, at 3:49.91. The three fastest Australians all-time – Mottram, Doyle and Jeff Riseley (3:51.25) – all did their performances in Oslo’s famous Dream Mile.

-reflecting the diminishing number of races over the mile, perhaps, only one Australian in the all-time top 10 did his performance this decade. Ryan Gregson’s 3:52.24 in 2010 ranks him fifth.

-Ken Hall’s 3:55.2 in Gothenburg in 1975 was run behind New Zealand’s John Walker when Walker ran history’s first sub-3:50 mile.

-Harry Downes ran 3:59.7 in Bendigo in 1963 off the scratch mark in a handicap race. Running in the ‘pro’ ranks, and hence ineligible under the rules at the time to represent Australia, Downes twice broke four minutes on grass tracks under handicap conditions.

Note 1: You can see the NUTS sub-4 stats by going to their home page www.nuts.org.uk and following the link to the sub-4 chronicle under ‘What’s new’;

Note 2: My major source for Australians was the all-time rankings list as published on the Athletics Australia website. Apologies if I’ve missed anyone. All amendments welcome!

Monday, February 18, 2013

The only woman to outgun Mary Cain in the Wanamaker Mile was Canadian Sheila Reid, a winner of multiple NCAA cross country and track titles at Villanova who is now a professional athlete. Reid ran last in the race for the first 600 meters, but moved up to the lead with two 200-meter laps remaining. She triumphed in 4:27.02 [the #1 mile time in the world this year]. And then, very graciously and knowingly, she took Cain’s hand and insisted they do a victory lap together. Which is just what the jubilant Armory crowd wanted.

We spoke to Reid after her mile win.

Were you worried at all early on? Was dropping to last place in the cards, in the race plan?

Sheila Reid: It was a good field and it went out quick. I’ve got a good feel on that sort of pace. In the back wasn’t slow, it was just not as fast as the front girls. But you should never bank on people coming back to you, so I did have to start cranking it up a notch.

Were the fractions along the way about what you expected?

SR: I think so. I kind of stopped looking after 800. I just wanted to be real comfortable, no quicker than 2:12 through the half. And then, from there on out, I was just trying to feel good, trying to feel out the other girls and how they were feeling.

Go HERE for the next 10 questions and answers from the Runner's World interview with Sheila Reid.

With the Big East championship weekend now past, we can update the top Villanova performers in the NCAA indoor performance lists. Keep in mind that the old style "qualifying standards" approach to making the NCAA D1 indoor championship meet has been scrapped in favor of a "Top 16" approach for each individual event and a "Top 12" approach for all relays. Specifically, qualification to the championships (March 8-9 in Fayetteville, Arkansas) is based on descending-order list for the season and adhering to the qualifying regulations/criteria published on NCAA.org. For each individual event contested, the top 16 declared student-athletes will be accepted into the competition. For each relay event contested, the top 12 declared relay teams will be accepted into the competition. The stated maximums are absolute and will not be extended as a result of ties.

Here are the Villanova athletes who currently sit among the top 50 performers in their respective events; as it stand today, only Sam McEntee (3000 meters), Sam Ellison (800 meters), and the DMR are qualified on the men's side. For the women, only the DMR squad -- #1 in the country -- is in an NCAA-qualifying position right now. More work to be done.

In a scenario that no longer surprises anyone, Emily Lipari yesterday unleashed a ferocious last lap kick to steal the Big East 4 x 800 meter title from Notre Dame. The Villanova quartet of Stephanie Schappert, Angel Piccirillo, Nicky Akande, and Emily Lipari took the title after Lipari -- rebuffed by Notre Dame anchor Rebecca Tracy on an attempted pass on the final turn -- stormed ahead over the final 10 meters of the race to cap a victorious 2:06.9 anchor. The winning time of 8:40.50 is the fastest time in the NCAA this season.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Sam McEntee doubled back from a 5th place finish (14:22.43) on Saturday in the 5000 meters to claim the 3000 meter title today at the Big East Indoor Championships in Geneva, Ohio. McEntee had to make a final lap charge to overcome both Andrew Springer of Georgetown and Martin Hehir of Syracuse to take the win in 8:03.95. His compatriot Jordy Williamsz (8:04.77) was third, less than a second in arrears. Villanova teammates Tom Trainer (8:30.79) and Brian Basili (8:33.24) came 19th and 22nd, respectively.

Rob Denault won the Big East title over one mile today in convincing fashion. Denault, who owns a 4:00.04 PR indoors, won this tactical race by almost two seconds, in 4:07.83. The race went out in 64.9 and 2:10, but Denault closed in 1:57 to take the win. Alex Tully came 6th (4:10.70), and Charles Bates was 12th (4:17.95).

Chris FitzSimons claimed his first conference title today at the Big East Indoor Championship, after runner-up status at the 2012 conference outdoor meet. FitzSimons was third at the bell, but was able to pass on the outside and hold off any challenger to win in 1:51.56.

Emily Lipari defended her Big East Indoor 1000 meter championship today, blowing past Georgetown's Rachel Schneider over the final 100 meters. Freshman teammate Angel Piccirillo did as well, to provide a 1-2 Villanova finish. Also scoring well for the Cats was Shannon Browne, who finished 4th.

Villanova key men's recruit for 2013 Ben Malone won the prestigious New Balance high school mile at the Millrose Games. Malone, the 2012 prep indoor national champion over 800 meters, won rather easily and has seemingly made a strong recovery from injuries that scuttled his 2012 cross country season.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Sheila Reid won the Wanamaker Mile tonight at the Millrose Games in impressive fashion, erasing the Canadian National Record set way back in 1987. She also set a new record for the Armory, in running the #1 time in the world for 2013.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Sheila Reid brings her 2013 world-leading 4:30.41i mile into the Millrose Games' Wanamaker Mile this weekend at the Armory in New York. She'll be competing against a very deep and familiar field of runners. Listed below are their mile and 1500 PRs for the competitors, as well as Mile Split's and FloTrack's analyses of the race.

Mile Split's Breakdown: After a two year hiatus, the Women's Mile returns to the Millrose Games with a couple of stories to follow. The first is at the top with Hilary Stellingwerff (CAN), Sarah Brown (USA) and the 'racer' Sheila Reid. The three have impressive resumes and any one of them can certainly run away with a win here. But midway down the list we also have a trio of collegiates and arguably America's greatest prep athlete in history that will be battling it out. Jordan Hasay of the University of Oregon was at one time in Mary Cain's shoes, the current darling of the prep scene. Hasay as a Duck is the reigning NCAA indoor Mile champion and has a resume that anyone would envy. However Cain has been getting all the headlines recently smashing the all-time High School Mile record and most recently the 2 Mile record. Not to be overlooked is University of Colorado's Emma Coburn who is the 2012 USA Steeplechase champion and an Olympic team member as well as Dartmouth's Abbey D'Agostino fresh off her 4:34.14 indoor Mile.

FloTrack's Analysis: This is arguably the best race we’ll see at Millrose. In an effort to explain the underlying story lines, we’ve created a Seven Degrees of Mary Cain chart below.

Just in case you’re wondering what the above phrase just meant, our chart is parallel the Six Degree of Seperation (or Kevin Bacon, whatever): No one is less than six of few links away from anyone else in the world.

Let’s begin.

We’ll start with Jordan Hasay. Hasay is coming off a 15:46 win the UW Husky Classic, where she glided away with the win over the over the last few laps. The mile used to be her marquee event, but a move up in distance (she’s expected to run the 10k outdoors) makes this a nice “return to roots” race.

However, Hasay’s record against the field isn’t as positive as she may like it to be. In terms of cross country kicks, there’s Villanova alumnus Sheila Reid.

Reid has had Hasay’s number for the last few years in cross and indoors and looks to be in top mile form. The Canadian Olympian is coming off a big mile debut with her 4:30.41 win at the Penn State National Meet.

One other girl that was in that fabled homestretch in Terre Haute was Georgetown alumnus, Emily Infeld. Infeld is coming off a strong performance at the USA Cross Country Championships (fourth in 26:47.7 for 8k) and now drops back down to the mile.

The one girl who finished between Infeld and Hasay in Terre Haute that year was someone who’s raced Hasay quite a bit in the last few months, Abbey D’Agostino. A few weeks earlier at the Dempsey, Hasay had to settle for fourth behind her fellow collegian rival as D’Agostino took third in 8:55.41. This big 3k came after running a blazing flat-track 4:34.14 earlier this season at her home invitational.

Then there’s the mile specialist who finished in front of D’Agostino at the Dempsey, Oiselle’s Kate Grace. We didn’t get to catch Grace at the Dempsey for a post-race interview after her 8:55.06, but we’ll make sure to keep an eye out for her (and the exit) in New York.

If we go back to the Trials, Grace is connected to another Millrose Games and Trials 1500m competitor. Grace finished 20th in the Trials 1500m semifinal while Sarah Brown (formally Bowman), finished sixth. This indoor season, Brown been on a tear with a big 4:31.61 win at New Balance Games. She enters with the second-fastest personal best in the field.

While Brown may have taken the win, the spotlight was on third place and Mary Cain. After her 4:32.78 at the NB Games earlier this season, but in every post-race interview, her and her coaches have said that she’s been more concerned with the win.

If she continues her historical season, she could once again break the high school record. But she’s not going to win, right? Right? ... right?

Our best guess is that the nod should go to Sarah Brown. Okay, that’s not much of a declarative sentence. Who do you think will take the win in the women’s mile?

Kudos to 6-time All American and 4-time Big East champion Bogdana Mimic for winning Villanova's institutional American Eagle Outfitters Female Scholar-Athlete Award. It carries an $2000 award toward her post-graduate studies. Here is the official press release from Villanova:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Senior Bogdana Mimic (Pancevo, Serbia) of the women's cross country and track & field team has been named Villanova's female institutional award winner of an American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete Scholarship, which includes a $2,000 grant towards her graduate studies. The BIG EAST Academic Affairs Committee today announced the 15 female institutional award winners of the scholarship in addition to naming the 2012-13 American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Counting both cross country and track & field Mimic is a career six-time All-American, four-time BIG EAST champion and 10-time All-BIG EAST performer. Those accolades include three consecutive All-America honors in cross country (2009-11) as well as being a part of consecutive BIG EAST champions indoors in the distance medley relay (2010, 2011). Mimic has also been a two-time individual All-American outdoors in the 5000 meters (2011, 2012).

During the 2011-12 academic year Mimic set personal bests in cross country on a 6,000 meter course and in the 5000 meters during the outdoor track & field season. Her personal best cross country time of 19:45.7 came at the NCAA Championships, where she came in sixth individually to help Villanova to a third place team finish and a spot on the awards podium. Mimic ran a time of 15:44.15 in the 5000 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays and went on to earn All-BIG EAST and All-America honors in the event.

Away from competition Mimic is a Chemical Engineering major and has been named to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team on two occasions. In order to be eligible for one of the institutional scholarships a student-athlete must have achieved a minimum of senior standing at their school while maintaining a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 as well as demonstrating outstanding athletic performance.

Providence cross country and track & field standout Sam Roecker was named the 2012-13 American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Including Roecker, a total of six of the 15 institutional award winners announced today were either cross country or track & field athletes.

The American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is one of a number of scholarships presented by the BIG EAST Conference and American Eagle Outfitters during the 2012-13 academic year. Thirty student-athletes (one male and one female from each of the BIG EAST's 15 member institutions) will be named as the winners of the American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarships. The conference also names male and female American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Basketball Scholar-Athletes of the Year and an American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Former Villanova sprint standout Bob Raemore (class of 1962) has died at the age of 71. He passed away on February 9th in Pittsburgh, after a brief illness. Villanovans will remember Bob as a stalwart sprinter on Jumbo Elliott's teams of the early 1960s. Raemore was part of 4 Penn Relays championship relay quartets: the 4 x 440y relay in both 1960 and 1961, and the 4 x 220y relay in 1961 and 1962. He also collected two IC4A championships in the 4 x 440y relays. Raemore was a 3-time Pennsylvania high school state champion, winning a rare triple (the 100y in 9.9 seconds, the 220y in 21.4 seconds, and the 400y in a PA state record of 48.5 seconds) at the 1958 Pennsylvania state championship meet -- all on his 17th birthday. After his running career at Villanova, Bob attended dental school and practiced in Indiana, Pennsylvania for the past 35 years. He worked as well for years as assistant track coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and in 2007 he was named the United State Track & Field and Cross Country Coach's Association's (USTFCCCA) National Women's Assistant Coach of the Year in Division II.

Friends of Dr. Robert Raemore will be received Thursday February 14th from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. at the Bowser-Minich Funeral Home in Indiana, PA where a funeral service will be held Friday at 10 a.m. Burial will be private.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

High performance sport New Zealand has initiated a programme best described as Olympic Moneyball - where top athletes from various codes can visit Auckland's Millennium Institute and demonstrate their abilities in a variety of sporting tasks to see if their talent is worth persevering with at an international level.

Former Olympian Adrian Blincoe is co-ordinating the National Athlete Transfer System (NATS), effectively becoming what Billy Beane was to the Oakland Athletics in the Moneyball book and film. Like Beane, his job is to offer an analytical and evidence-based approach to maximise Olympic talent from HPSNZ's relatively small budget.

Contenders fill out expressions of interest. The programme is openly ageist (athletes need to be 16-28 years) but Blincoe believes it can improve New Zealand's medal chances at the Rio Games.

"The initiative is athlete driven, perhaps for those who might be considering retirement or had past injuries. It potentially gives them another pathway to success in elite sport by upskilling in a new event. We're not shoulder tapping.

"It has been done on a case-by-case basis in the past. Kate McIlroy [athletics to triathlon], Alison Shanks [netball to cycling] and past bobsled teams are examples. We'll be doing basic tests like checking their wattage output on a bike, a VO2 max [maximum aerobic capacity] test on a treadmill, speed in the pool and other skills-based tasks. The goal is to pick athletes capable of making a fast transition to winning medals at major championships.

"The British did a version of this for the London Games. Thousands were tested over a couple of weeks but it had a finite end date. We don't have those sorts of resources but our programme will be ongoing."

The obvious place for Blincoe to start is triathlon, where McIlroy made an almost immediate impact after transferring from the steeplechase, an event in which she qualified for the 2008 Olympics but did not attend through injury.

Triathlon New Zealand struggled in the last Olympic cycle where no medals failed to justify the $6.16 million of taxpayer investment.

Triathlon has survived as a targeted Olympic sport, thanks in part to an eight-year plan which includes moving to a new base in Cambridge this year. They have also cut the high performance squad from 21 to 14 with only three athletes - Andrea Hewitt, McIlroy and Ryan Sissons - in what's described as a 'podium' squad.

New TriNZ high performance director Graeme Maw welcomes the HPSNZ plan. A key TriNZ objective is finding runners who can complete 10km in less than 30 minutes (men) and 34 minutes (women). That is seen as a distinguishing characteristic between a triathlon champion and an exceptional athlete.

"Working with Adrian will be fantastic because he knows what success looks like, having been an Olympian and experienced the US college system," Maw says.

Maw knows his way around athletes. He held similar high performance roles with Welsh rugby, Queensland Swimming and British Triathlon (his talent identification programme unearthed the Brownlee brothers).

"I came from [working as sports director at] Millfield school in Britain and I'd happily stand in front of assembly and say we didn't want to develop sports yobs. For me, the psychological and emotional development of athletes is of utmost importance. It doesn't mean you have to sacrifice speed.

"New Zealand needs to retain that No8 wire, self-reliant attitude of a Bevan Docherty. We've got around half the budget of Britain so we've always got to be clever to find ways to win."

With the weekend meets in the rear-view mirror, we can update the top Villanova performers in the NCAA indoor performance lists. Keep in mind that the old style "qualifying standards" approach to making the NCAA D1 indoor championship meet has been scrapped in favor of a "Top 16" approach for each event. Specifically, qualification to the championships (March 8-9 in Fayetteville, Arkansas) is based on descending-order list for the season and adhering to the qualifying regulations/criteria published on NCAA.org. For each individual event contested, the top 16 declared student-athletes will be accepted into the competition. For each relay event contested, the top 12 declared relay teams will be accepted into the competition. The stated maximums are absolute and will not be extended as a result of ties.

Here are the Villanova athletes who currently sit among the top 50 performers in their respective events:

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Sam McEntee set a new PR over 3000 meters tonight in Seattle. Finishing 8th in a very fast race (Ryan Hill won in 7:49.20), McEntee ran 7:54.34 -- a full 14 seconds quicker than his 8:08.39 at Penn State two weekends ago.

Jordy Williamsz finished 7th today in 4:00.12 in Seattle at the University of Washington's Husky Classic Invitational Mile. Williamsz ran near the front of the pack in 4th place throughout the first 1300 meters of the race, but faded over the final lap and finished just outside the 4:00 mark. He joins Rob Denault (4:00.04) in knocking on the sub 4:00 barrier this indoor season. Here are the complete results of the race.